by Judy Baer
“Do you mind?” He indicated the couch in the living room. Stupefied as I was, I gestured for him to sit. He didn’t even notice that Bentley, who, when he saw his scare tactics had failed, rolled over and played dead.
I have got to consider getting a watchdog. As it is, the only way Bentley would protect me is if a burglar tripped on him and broke a bone in the fall.
There, in my cream-colored living room, Connor looked like a movie star as he leaned back against the red sofa cushions. Like a magnet, he drew me in.
“Can I get you something? I have…er…banana splits?”
“Only if I can help you make them.”
Sure. Why not? I’ve got a regular Baskin-Robbins thing going right now.
My skepticism vanished, however, as he pitched in and made even more elaborate concoctions than Lilly and I had done earlier. When he handed me my second sinful indulgence in less than two hours, I smiled weakly. I learned from my mother that a good hostess always joins her guests to eat, and does not hover in the kitchen being a martyr and taking all the leftover scraps. Lettuce and water tomorrow.
Bentley had fallen asleep playing dead on the carpet so I left him where he was and joined Connor on the couch.
“We missed you around town,” I commented. Truer words were never spoken. We, of course, meant Lilly.
“I’ll be traveling off and on. I have interests in several places. That’s one of the challenges I see living here in Shoreside, but I believe it will be worth it.”
“Why are you here, Connor? Hawaii would have been a hard place for me to leave.”
“I don’t think of it as leaving permanently, but the business here needed my attention. And—” he hesitated slightly “—I’m tired. Being here makes me think of a simpler life. A main street, shopkeepers, friendly people, all tucked inside a metropolitan area. It’s very appealing.”
“Trying to kick back, in other words.” Now that’s something I can understand. Still, it surprised me. “I assumed a man like you would be bored in a place like Shoreside.”
“I guess it’s my age,” he admitted honestly. “I’ve had a busy life, lots of travel and excitement. The idea of settling down is becoming more and more appealing.”
You, too? I thought. He sounds like Joe. This must be a symptom of the twenty-first century, men being ready to nest before their female counterparts. Lilly excluded, of course, but that was new since Connor had come to town.
“I thought that someone like you would have a dozen women ready to settle down with you.” I stirred my ice cream into sludge as I spoke, unable to eat any more.
“It has to be the right one.”
Something in his voice made me look up. Connor was staring at me with a strange light in his eyes.
“Someone natural and real. Not a woman concerned about how she looks and how much jewelry she has. Someone who doesn’t check the mirror in her compact at every opportunity to see if her lipstick has faded. Someone whose main hobby isn’t shopping.”
Uh-oh. That would make me exhibit number one and Lilly exhibit number two.
“There’s nothing wrong with people who shop,” I offered hopefully. “Just because someone is concerned about how they look doesn’t mean they aren’t nice people. In fact, I’m probably a little too careless.” I flicked at my wild curls. “Taming this is like taming the wind.”
“Exactly what I mean, Norah. I like things natural and real. Like you.”
This is not going at all as it should. Connor should be coming here to ask about Lilly. He should be enamored with her and frantic to know how he can make her fall in love with him. He should think the sun rises and sets on her beautiful face. He should not be looking at me like this—like I’m something much more delicious than ice cream and that he’s a very hungry man.
“That’s nice. I like things natural, too, like…him.” I pointed at Hoppy, who had just bounded into the living room.
A fourteen-pound rabbit can be a useful diversion, especially when he heads right for Connor’s shoes and begins to gnaw on the laces.
Connor tried to shoo Hoppy away, but Hoppy is not easily shooed. He, like Bentley, feels very secure in the cocoon of my household. He looked up at Connor, wriggled his nose and went for the laces again.
Connor jumped up to get away from über-rabbit and startled Asia Mynah out of a doze.
“Great balls of fire!” the bird screeched. He flapped his wings and glared at Connor. Then Asia Mynah made some smooching sounds and said, “Gimme a kiss, will you, baby?”
I swear he and Winky have been getting together and teaching each other things when my back is turned.
As he backed toward the door, I quashed an urge to sing a verse or two of “Talk to the Animals” but even all this pandemonium didn’t seem to deter Connor.
“You see what I mean, Norah? You’re real, down-to-earth.” Instead, he looked inordinately pleased. “And these animals, well…you’re really something.”
I was not about to pursue what that “something” might be, but I did have to take a stab at pointing out that Lilly was “something,” too.
“You should get to know Lilly Culpepper, Connor. She’s a fabulous person. Salt of the earth. Lilly has a great business head and she’s funny.”
“Lilly’s a nice person, but she’s nothing like you.”
Before he could say more, I nudged Bentley with my toe. Startled, he jumped to his feet and started growling again, more out of fright than protective impulses. That, it seemed, helped Connor decide that it was time to say his goodbyes.
As I held Bentley by the collar pretending I was keeping him from attacking Connor—fat chance—Connor let himself out. When he was gone, I sank to the floor next to Bentley and put my head in my hands.
“Now what am I going to do, Bent? He can’t fall for me! It would just kill Lilly. She’d never understand.”
Unfortunately Bentley didn’t have any more answers for this sticky situation than I did.
I have become paralyzed in the night. The lower half of my body is no longer functioning. I lie in bed imagining how it will be for me to live in a wheelchair. I consider the importance of handicapped-accessible buildings. I wonder what potent painkillers will do to my delicate insides. I grieve over the fact that I will no longer be playing tennis, jogging, in-line skating or horseback riding….
The light comes on through my fog of stiffness and pain. Horseback riding. Having one’s hip joints manipulated by a horse as wide as a Volkswagen. Using every muscle in my back and shoulders to hang on for dear life. Sitting on an animal that has a backbone like a razor blade.
And all in the name of fun. Perhaps next time I want to have “fun” I will have my tonsils removed…or my toenails. It can’t be any worse than this.
As I rolled to the side of the bed, it occurred to me that this is the way Auntie Lou feels every morning. I looked over the side and realized how far it was down to the floor when one’s limbs are frozen into a permanent V shape. I recall Arthur, Rhuma-tiz, Charlie and Ben. I vow to treat Auntie Lou with the utmost respect and love. She says growing old isn’t for sissies and now I know why. If this is her lot every day, then I have even more to thank God for—joints that usually work.
By the time I actually flailed and shimmied my way out of bed, I had gathered quite a crowd. Hoppy and Bentley were sitting in the doorway staring at me suspiciously. I suppose the thrashing of bed linens and muted groans made them apprehensive. “She got into that bed,” they’re probably thinking, “but where’d she go and who is that mess that’s replaced her?”
I managed to stand up and waddle stiff-legged to the shower where I stood for nearly half an hour soothing away the kinks and aches in my legs. The other benefit to the shower was that I didn’t know if it was just water or tears of pain streaming down my face.
By the time Nick called to see if I was ready for church, I could almost laugh about the situation.
“Talk about humbling! I’ve always prided myself on being
somewhat of an athlete but pride, obviously, does come before the fall.”
“You’ll work it out. Riding takes a little getting used to. If you wanted to get on Cocoa again this afternoon, it might help loosen you up.”
“Are you kidding,” I retorted. “I have to wait until my hip bones return to their sockets before I do this again.”
I’m not sure who needed more help getting up the steps into the church sanctuary, me or Auntie Lou. At least she wasn’t walking bowlegged.
We were only halfway to the car after church when Auntie Lou announced, “Now that I’ve been spiritually fed, where do we eat?”
“Don’t beat around the bush, Auntie Lou, cut to the chase.”
She chuckled. “I’m too old to be tactful, I’m afraid. Ever since I turned seventy I’ve been speaking my mind and I like it.” She tittered again. “I’m not sure anyone else likes it, but it suits me fine.”
“I admire straightforwardness,” Nick said tactfully. “Especially when I’m hungry, too.”
Fortunately for both of them, there was no waiting line at the restaurant and we were seated immediately.
“Brunch buffet or would you like to order off the menu?” the waitress asked. “The buffet is outstanding today. Eggs Benedict, smoked salmon, waffles, omelets…”
Nick and I both ordered the buffet. Auntie Lou looked wistfully at the vast tables loaded with food on the far side of the room and then at the menu. “Pancakes, please.”
“Pancakes? With that food over there?” Nick was surprised. “Where’s that appetite, Lou?”
“It’s not that.” She hesitated. “But my legs are bothering me today and it’s quite a walk over there.”
“She’ll have the buffet,” I ordered. “And I’ll dish it up for her.”
“You don’t have to bother….”
“Auntie Lou,” I scolded, “if you won’t order the buffet because you can’t walk back and forth a few times, then you aren’t so honest as you think you are. I saw you look at that food. Pancakes, my foot. It’s your pride that’s pinching you.”
Nick got wide-eyed and silent. His reaction told me that perhaps I had gotten a little stern. But how else could I get through to this woman and let her know that we’re here to help her?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scold you like I was your…”
“…daughter?” Then I saw that Lou had tears in her eyes. “You read me like a book, my dear. You make me feel like I’m family. Thank you.”
A lump formed in my own throat. How lonesome was Lou? How long had it been since anyone was concerned for her welfare? “I’ll fuss over you any time you want. Just call. Now, do you want to start with a salad or the breakfast entrées?”
“That was interesting,” Nick commented as we walked to the buffet to fill our plates. “I thought she might smack you, not thank you.”
“I don’t know what’s with me lately, but I’m in nurturing mode and I can’t shake it.”
“I think you must always be in that mode, Norah, you’re a nurturer from your cells on out.”
And that, I realized, was exactly who God had made me to be. I’m glad Nick appreciates it.
Chapter Eighteen
I knew something was wrong even before Joe walked into Norah’s Ark. His shoulders were rounded forward and his eyes studiously on the ground.
“Hey, big guy, what’s up?”
He looked at me curiously, as if I should be in the same mood as he.
“I haven’t seen much of you lately.”
Aha. He’s feeling neglected. I’m surprised. Joe is usually approving of my independent ways.
“It’s been crazy,” I admitted. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? We’ll fire up the grill and make brats and corn on the cob.”
He perked up immediately. “You mean it?”
“Of course I mean it! Can you pick up something wonderful at the bakery for dessert?”
He smiled that devastating smile of his and I wanted to hug him. “You’re so patient with me, Joe, I can’t believe you put up with me.”
“You’re worth the wait, Norah.”
I felt a troubled frown forming between my eyebrows. “Joe…”
“I know, no promises. You’ve never led me to believe anything else. That doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He leaned forward and kissed me gently.
After he’d left, I sat down on the stool behind the counter and put my head in my hands. It was beginning to ache. Nine chances out of ten, if I’d been ready and looking for a marriage partner, the man well would be dry as dust. Because I’m not in any hurry, however, I’m attracting them like bees to honey. Joe, Connor…I can’t really include Nick on the list, because though he’s friendly, he’s aloof, like there’s a bulletproof shield around him. Makes sense for a cop, I guess.
A wolf whistle in eardrum-shattering decibels only added to the pain in my head.
“Hey, good-looking, who’s your daddy?” Maybe Winky was once owned by a politically incorrect construction worker.
I looked up cross-eyed to see Lilly charging through the door in a pale mint jogging suit and a snug T-shirt covered with bling. She blew Winky a kiss on her way by and he made some wet, smooching sounds and then something so high-pitched that I expected the neighborhood dogs to come running.
“I love that bird,” Lilly said cheerfully.
“He’s yours. You don’t even have to pay me. I’ll take his cost out in merchandise. When do you want me to deliver him to your place?”
“I’d get a big head if I had someone whistling at me like that all the time. No, I’ll just come in here for a pick-me-up.” She plopped onto the second stool behind my counter and stared at me coyly from beneath lowered lids. “I saw you at church yesterday.” She made a few silly noises of her own. “That Nick is awfully cute.”
I ignored that part. “You were in church? Why didn’t you come and say hi? I didn’t see you.” Lilly isn’t exactly a regular, although she has gone with me a time or two.
“I was feeling a little down and I remembered that you said you always felt better after going to church, so I thought I’d try it.”
There are certainly worse things she could try.
Thanks, God. I see Your hand in this. Anything You want me to do or say here?
“A little down? Could this have anything to do with Connor?”
Lilly’s face told me all.
“Don’t get depressed over a man, Lilly! You’re smarter than that. If it works out, great, but if it doesn’t, then he was never the one for you. Why would you want a man who’s not truly into you?”
“It’s different for you, Norah. You believe because God’s going to take a hand in your love life that things will work out as they should. Frankly, I’m not as sure about that as you are. Besides, I’m not getting any younger.”
Lilly’s perfectly shaped lips drooped in her exquisite face with its practically poreless and wrinkle-free skin.
“Lilly, it doesn’t matter. You still look like you’re eighteen years old. Besides, thirty-one is not exactly over the hill. You haven’t even reached the foothills yet. Where’s your self-esteem?”
Lilly looked down at her feet. “Maybe I didn’t have as much as either you or I thought I did. That’s why I went to church, to get a new perspective.”
“Here’s my view. That’s why Jesus came, not to invent a cure for wrinkles on a face but wrinkles on your soul.”
She looked at me with such affection that it made my throat tighten. “And that’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it? The unforgiven wrinkles on my soul?”
“The others are inevitable, those aren’t.”
“I can always count on a new angle from you, Norah. I come in worrying about my age and a man who’s not head over heels over me and end up talking about forgiveness and wrinkly souls.”
“Keep your head, Lilly. Connor’s a nice guy but he’s not the be-all and end-all of men.”
“It’s easy for you to say
, he’s a lot more relaxed with you than he is with me.”
“Maybe he’s relaxed because I’m not pushing to have a relationship with him.”
Just the opposite, in fact.
“So your advice is to ease up?”
“Is that what you heard me say?”
“Close enough.” She stood up and gave me a quick hug. “I’m so glad you’re my friend.” And she swept back out of the shop to a chorus of wild noises from Winky.
I was wearing my red-and-white checked cook’s apron when Joe arrived. Bentley was in his matching red-and-white bandana. Hoppy has one, too, but he’s not much for dressing for company. Bentley, on the other hand, is a bit of a show dog. Or maybe he’s a show-off dog that’s frightened of people. An odd combination, that Bentley.
“I just put the brats and corn on.” I waved a pair of tongs in his direction. “Salad’s ready.”
Joe put a box of pastries on the counter and rubbed his hands together. Ever practical, he announced, “Let’s pray before the corn starts to burn.”
After dinner we sat on the deck in companionable silence, gorging ourselves on pastries and watching sailboats glide ghostlike through the water. Bentley enjoys boating. Actually, he enjoys watching boats. I’ve had him out on the water a couple times and I think he gets seasick. I can’t think of any other reason his eyes roll and, honest, his lips get a green tinge.
“I like this, Norah.”
“Me, too. For once there aren’t any of those annoying little watercraft ruining the peace and quiet.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant.” He wagged his index finger between himself and me. “I like this. You and me. Together. Doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company.”
“Of course. That goes without saying.”
He turned and looked at me with a gauging expression. “It certainly does. Go without saying, I mean. By you. You never tell me that my company is enough for you.”
Not now, Joe. Please? Don’t start this now!
But of course, not being a mind reader, Joe did.
“Sometimes I get the idea that I’m hopelessly infatuated with a woman who’s only mildly fond of me, Norah. Is that true?”